Apparatus for actuating sights.



I. 1. FEE NEY. APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING SIGHTS.

APPLICATION FILED DECJB. I915- 1,264,169. Patented Apr. 30,1918.

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APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING SIGHTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.I9, 1916. 1,264, 1 69. Patented Apr. 3.0. 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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i 25} iangular displacement of the gun.

THOMAS J. FEENEY, OF LOS AN GELES, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR AGTUATING SIGHTS.

Application filed December To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. FEENEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Actuating Sights, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an apparatus particularly applicable to anti-air-craft guns, but is not limited to this use, as will appear hereinafter.

An object of the invention is to provide a device for the purpose of setting a sighting member where the setting of such member is determined by the relative values of one or two variables, as in the setting of such members for aiming at targets of high elevation or in directing projectiles from air-crafts at targets on the earth.

A further object of the invention is to proide an apparatus of the class described in which a sighting member is so related to the displacement of a gun that the said member {gis' always displaced proportionately to the With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the application, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gun sight embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sighting device;

Fig. 8 is a section on line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a cross section on line 4-4,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section on line 55, Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic development of the path of the stylus in its movement on the cam in an embodiment of such a device used for directing projectiles from air-craft.

The setting of a sight for directing projectiles at or from air-craft or determining speed of flight is similar in that each depends on one or two variable quantities. In the first case it depends on the height and position of the target with respect to a vertical line. In the second case it depends on the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

19, 1916. Serial No. 137,926.

height of flight and speed of the craft. In the third case it depends on the height and angle of observation or the tangent of that angle, either of which is unvarying.

Referring to the drawings, 6 is a cam housing which is secured by any suitable means to the cradle 7 of a gun, or any other non-recoilable part thereof and which participates in the displacement of the gun during the aiming. A bracket 8 is secured to one end of the housing. A sector 9 is mounted to oscillate on the bracket 8 on a pin 10 carried by the bracket. This pin carries a rod 11 constrained to oscillate with the sector. A level 12 is secured to the rod to indicate the vertical position thereof. The rod is preferably provided with a weight 13 to form a pendulum of the rod for maintaining said rod in a vertical position. This arrangement is used in cases where the displacement of the sector is to be automatic,

bntdtds-notamecessaryarrangement. The proper position of the housing is always indicated by the air bubble in the level 12. In the absence of a weight, or the failure ofthe weight to center the air bubble, the rod 11 may be moved manually.

The sector 9 meshes with a pinion 14 which is rotatably mounted in the end wall of the housing 6. A shaft 15 is constrained to rotate with the pinion but is free to move axially relative to the pinion. The other end of the shaft 15 has a circular rack 16 formed thereon, a part of which projects out of the end wall of the housing 6 in which said end of shaft 15 bears. A cam 17 is provided within the housing 6 on the shaft 15 to participate in all the movements of said shaft. The cam 17 is in the shape of a member having a variously curved surface, the curvature depending on one or two sets of variables; the elevation of the surface varying in the direction of one of its movements in accordance with one set of variables and in the other direction in accordance with the other set of variables. In the cam 17 shown, the elevation of the cam surface varies axially according to the heights, and circumferentially according to the angles of site. The cam 17 has an unbalanced hub 17 for balancing the cam 17 on the shaft 15.

The shape of a cross section of the cam for a certain height is determined by the gradual change in the angle of elevation (the angle between the line of sight and axis of the gun) which would take place if the gun were aimed so as to be continuously trained on the target at that height level, beginning at a point directly overhead and occupying successive positions at that level and in the plane of fire to that point at which the trajectory will intersect the plane of height when the gun is at its lowest angle in elevation. It will be noted that the cam is geared through the medium of the pinion 1 1 and sector 9, so that it revolves through a considerably greater angle than the gun, the gear ratio depending on the degree of rotary movement which is to be imparted to the cam and the greatest angle through which the gun is moved in elevation. hen the gun is at the highest angle in elevation, the cam is at one extreme of its rotary movement, and the other extreme of its movement when the gun is at its lowest angle in elevation.

The rotary movement of the cam is indicated by a. suitable device 15, the motion of which is transmitted preferably from the gear 14. This indicator is shown for convenience at the gear 1 1, but it may be located at any suitable part of the apparatus to facilitate the operation of the apparatus.

A sighting member 18 mounted to slide axially in a sleeve 19 rising from the housing 6 has a sharp point bearing on the cam surface. The sighting member 18 will carry the rear sight of a gun or it may be used for actuating a telescopic sight 20, as shown in the drawings. The telescopic sight is rotatably mounted in a bracket 21 rising from the housing 6. Constrained to revolve with the telescope is a toothed sector 22 which gears with a circular rack 23 mounted over the sleeve 19 and partly housing the sighting member 18 with which it has a threaded connection 24. The sighting member has a scale 25 projecting out of the sleeve 19 and cooperating therewith. The sighting member 18 is maintained in engagement with the cam 17 by a coil spring 26 provided on the shaft binding the sector 22 with the telescope 20. The mounting of the sight with respect to the housing, and the manner of supporting the housing, is o-ptional. The sight may be disposed at right angles to the housing. And when the device is used for directing projectiles from air-craft, it should preferably be secured to the framework of the craft.

The axial displacement of the shaft and, therefore, the longitudinal displacement of the cam is obtained through the medium of the circular rack 16 which is in mesh with a gear 27 constrained to rotate with a worm wheel 28 which meshes with a worm 29 revoluble through a hand wheel 80. An indicator 31 is coupled with the gear 27 and worm wheel 28 to register the height or range for which the sight is set.

When aiming a gun at a target the elevation of the target is estimated and the cam is moved in an axial direction for the estimated height. The air bubble of the level is then centered. The sight will then have the angle required to indicate the striking point for the height for which the sight is set in conjunction with the angle to which the gun is elevated.

The following relates to the use of the device for directing the release of projectiles from air-craft. In order to release a projectile from an air-craft at the instant necessary to hit the target, the speed of the craft must be known, because the projectile, after release, is carried along in the direction of flight. It is customary, therefore, to incorporate in such devices some means of estimating speed, by noting the time taken by the craft to cover a predetermined distance. In some types the sighting member is set to a certain angle so that the line of sight will strike the-earth at a certain distance in advance of the craft. Supposing this angle to be 45, the line of sight will strike the earth at a point in advance of the craft which is equal to the height of flight, because the tangent of 15 is 1, and the two legs of the triangle formed are equal.

Assuming the craft to be flying at a height of 3000 feet, the line of sight, then, is con tinuously fixed on a point 3000 feet in advance of a vertical line passing through the craft. The observer must then make note of the instant when the sight line intersects an object on the earth, and by use of a stop watch must note the exact time taken to reach a point vertically above the same object. Having, then, the distance and the time, the speed is easily calculated.

This method has the disadvantage that at great heights the time taken to make the observation is so long as to be impracticable. In an improved type of such devices the angle of observation is not fixed but decreases with the increase of height, so that the absolute length of the tangent measured on the surface of the earth is always the same regardless of the height. My device is so constructed that it may be utilized for measuring the speed in a manner similar to the improved device mentioned, within the limits of the angles for which the apparatus is designed.

In the application of the device for reckoning speed, the indicators must be provided with a scale in addition to the scales which are used for setting the sight for aiming. These scales must be graduated in heights so that when the height has been found, as by a barometer, and the indicator set to that height, the sighting member has the necessary angle for estimating the speed. Suppose that the 18 angle is the one which must be used to reckon speed when at a height of 3700 feet, then when the sighting member is set to the angle of 18 the indicator for the aXial position of the cam must register 3700 feet on the scale which is used for setting a sight for speed reckoning, and the indicator for the rotary position of the cam must indicate 3700 feet on its secondary scale. This setting is indicated in Fig. 6 in connection with the development of the cam by the lines aa. The figures on the body of the diagram indicate the angles which would be given to the sight by contact of the sighting member with various points on the surface of the cam. The fig ures at the top are the figures which would be on one of the indicators, and the figures 'at the right, those for the other indicator.

There are three sets of figures at the top, one for observation angles for speed reckoning. The angles in this example are so related to the height that the length of the tangent measured on the earth is always 1200 feet. The next row is for setting the sight to the elapsed time noted for traversing the angle of observation. The third scale gives the corresponding feet per second for the elapsed time. This is not necessary but might be included. The setting indicated on the diagram by the lines bb is for 3 100 feet and an elapsed time of 24 seconds, which for 1200 feet equals 50 feet per second.

If the speed is determined by an observation angle which decreases as the height increases, and the cam of the apparatus is not fashioned for the purpose of determining speed, it may be used for that purpose, nevertheless, but, of course, only within its limits, that is, it could not give an observation angle to the sight either greater or less than that which it could give for setting the sight for the greatest height and speed or the least height and speed when used for aiming. It will be observed that this use of the device is only possible on account of the fact that in determining the speed only one variable, the height, is taken into account.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a sighting member, a movable cam for actuating the sighting member, gravitationally-operable means for revolving the cam, manually-operable means for moving the cam longitudinally, an indicator means and a suitable support for said member, cam and indicator.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a sighting member, a movable cam presenting a surface varying in the direction of its motion for actuating the sighting member, means for revolving the cam, manually-operable means for moving the cam axially, an indicator and a support for said member, cam and indicator.

3. In an apparatus of the class described,

varying in the direction of the cams motion, means for moving the cam circumferentially, a level for said moving means, means for moving the cam longitudinally, and means for indicating the rotary and longitudinal displacement of the cam.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a sighting member on the housing, a movable cam within the housing engaging the sighting member and presenting thereto a surface varying in the direction of the cams movement, a sector mounted to oscillate, a pinion meshing with the sector, said cam being constrained to revolve with the pinion but free to move to and from said pinion, means for actuating the sector whereby the cam is moved circumferentially, and means for moving the cam longitudinally.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a sighting member on the housing, including means for adjusting the sighting member, a movable cam within the housing engaging the sighting member and having a surface varying in the direction of the cams motion, a sector mounted to oscillate, a pinion meshing with the sector, means connecting the cam to the pinion so that the cam is bound to move circumferentially when the sector is oscillated but leaving said cam free to move longitudinally, an arm constrained to oscillate with the sector, a level carried by said arm, means for oscillating the sector whereby the cam is rotated, and means for moving the cam longitudinally.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a sighting member on the housing, a movable cam within the housing engaging the member and having a surface varying in the direction of the cams motion, means for turning the cam, a circular rack associated with the cam, operating means for the rack to displace the cam longitudinally, and an indicator associated with said operating means.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a movable cam within the housing presenting a surface varying in the direction of the cams motion, means for moving the cam longitudinally, means for turning the cam, a sighting member engaging the cam, a circular rack adjustably mounted on the sighting member, and sighting means mounted to oscillate, including means in cooperative engagement with the rack, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a movable cam within the housing presenting a surface varying in the direction of the cams motion, means for turning the cam, means for moving the cam longitudinally, a sighting member on the housing engaging the cam, a circular rack in threaded engagement with the sighting member, a sector meshing with the rack, sighting means mounted to oscillate with the sector, and yielding means for maintaining the sighting member in engagement with the cam.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a shaft revoluble in said housing and free to move longitudinally, a pinion revoluble with the shaft but not movable longitudinally with the shaft, a pendulum, a sector constrained to oscillate with the pendulum in engagement with the pinion, a level carried by the pendulum, a cam on the shaft within the housing mounted to participate in all the movements of the shaft, a circular rack associated with the shaft, operating means engaging the rack for displacing the shaft longitudinally,

means associated with the operatin means for indicating the longitudinal anc rotary movement of the cam, and a sighting member on the housing displaceable by the cam.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a movable cam therein presenting a surface varying circumferentially and longitudinally, means associated with the housing for displacing the cam longitudinally and circumferentially, and an indicator consisting of a stationary dial and a movable pointer, said pointer being connected to the mechanism which gives axial movement to the cam, and a sighting member on the housing in contact with the surface of the cam and sighting means associated with said member.

12. In an apparatus of the class described, a housing, a movable cam therein present ing a surface varying longitudinally and circumferentially, means for actuating said cam longitudinally, means for actuating said cam circumferentially, means for indicating the circumferential and longitudinal displacement of the cam, a sighting member on the housing contacting with the surface of the cam and sighting means associated with said member.

THOMAS J. FEENEY.

Gopiee of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

